President Alar Karis has given his assent to legislative amendments governing work and migration into Estonia from outside the European Union, at the second attempt.
The ruling Reform-Center government coalition does not intend to make any changes to the amendments to the Aliens Act recently vetoed by President Alar Karis, and intends to pass them as-is, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) said. Center MP Tõnis Mölder confirmed the same.
Two opposition parties, the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) and Isamaa, are attempting to halt legislation amendments issued in response to the Ukraine refugee crisis, at least in their current form.
The number of people who applied for international protection in Estonia in 2021 rose by nearly two-thirds on the preceding year, to 76, the interior ministry says. The growth was largely the result of a rise in the number of applicants from Afghanistan, following the departure of US and allied forces from that country and the return of the Taliban, though Estonia's overall figure for asylum applications remains among the lowest in the EU.